Comments on: Backs propeller boat into victim, manufacturer liable

By: John Fembup

John Fembup — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 01:08:00 +0000

I’ve thought for years that NASA was recklessly endangering the safety of pedestrians walk near the Shuttle launch sites.

Why won’t NASA install baffles and shields to divert the flames and gases that belch from their smelly rocket motor thingies, anyway? Someday someone will get hurt and there will be a reckoning I can tell you.

By: kimsch

kimsch — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 21:14:08 +0000

Wouldn’t guards and a shield around the propeller defeat the propeller’s purpose? Maybe one could make it like a cooling fan, but then vegetation in the body of water one was boating in could get all caught up in it and cause more problems that people could sue for because those would be foreseen as well.

By: Bryan C

Bryan C — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 17:17:58 +0000

Clearly the real party at fault are the companies that refined, delivered, and sold the gasoline that was placed in the boat’s engine. If it weren’t for these companies’ unconscionable negligence and greed, the propeller wouldn’t have been spinning around in such an obviously dangerous way.

And don’t even get me started on the misdeeds of the sinister tow-rope manufacturers’ lobby.

“It would probably be fairer to just pull twelve names out of a hat. Couldn’t be any worse. ”

It would probably be bit improvement, actually. Even better would be to prevent stupid cases like this from coming to trial in the first place.

By: Titus

Titus — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 12:18:39 +0000

Hmmm. The concept of “drag” comes to mind as a legitimate defense here.

By: Soronel Haetir

Soronel Haetir — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 07:03:42 +0000

How about instead of names of jurors they just put the range of awards (everything from “Your great grandchildren are set for life” to “The defendant owns your entire family”). Of course, with the way lawyers are, they could rack up hundreds of thousands of expenses just wrangling over how the drawing was to occur.

By: Bumper

Bumper — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 05:52:25 +0000

At some point we as a nation are going to have to admit that a jury of our peers no longer works. It would probably be fairer to just pull twelve names out of a hat. Couldn’t be any worse.